rote

1
[ roht ]
See synonyms for rote on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. proceeding mechanically and repetitiously; being mechanical and repetitious in nature; routine; habitual: rote performance;rote implementation;His behavior became more rote with every passing year.

noun
  1. a fixed, habitual, or mechanical course of procedure; routine: the rote of daily living.

Idioms about rote

  1. by rote, from memory, without thought of the meaning; in a mechanical way: to learn a language by rote.

Origin of rote

1
First recorded in 1300–150; Middle English; of obscure origin

Words Nearby rote

Other definitions for rote (2 of 3)

rote2
[ roht ]

nounMusic.

Origin of rote

2
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English rote, rotte, route, a kind of harp, from Old French rote, route “stringed instrument,” from unattested Frankish hrota (compare Old High German hruozza ); akin to crowd2
  • Also rota [roh-tuh], /ˈroʊ tə/, rotta [rot-uh], /ˈrɒt ə/, rotte [rot] /rɒt/ .

Other definitions for rote (3 of 3)

rote3
[ roht ]

noun
  1. the sound of waves breaking on the shore.

Origin of rote

3
First recorded in 1600–10; of uncertain origin; perhaps from Old Norse rauta “to roar”

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use rote in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for rote (1 of 2)

rote1

/ (rəʊt) /


noun
  1. a habitual or mechanical routine or procedure

  2. by rote by repetition; by heart (often in the phrase learn by rote)

Origin of rote

1
C14: origin unknown

British Dictionary definitions for rote (2 of 2)

rote2

/ (rəʊt) /


noun
  1. an ancient violin-like musical instrument; crwth

Origin of rote

2
C13: from Old French rote, of Germanic origin; related to Old High German rotta, Middle Dutch rotte

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with rote

rote

see by heart (rote).

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.